Muddy Encounters
by greenphantomme
Summary: I always knew there was a chance something bad would happen when camping out for the Quidditch League Cup Final with cousins, especially with my luck. Yet even though I lost my family in the middle in a riot, got clubbed with a Beaters bat, and was entombed in mud, I considered it one of the best days of my life.


It was a struggle to open my eyes. My head was pounding, such that I've never felt before. It felt like I'd just had a lobotomy or some other intense surgical procedure.

Then I blacked out again.

The second time I came to, I was more lucid. My head was still pounding like the hounds from hell were trying to escape, but I was more aware of myself and my surroundings: dizziness; lying down; sticky wetness at my back; smells of sweat, blood, and refuse in the air. Then there were the screams off in the background.

That triggered my memory for whatever smells and sounds were around were associated with what I knew only too well: Quidditch. Despite the relentless pounding head, my senses all seemed to be in working order.

This _always_ happened to me. My family was going to take the piss out of me. _Can't even walk two steps without a roof collapsing. _How do my parents even let me out of the house?

Tentatively I raised my arms, pulling them against the mud they seemed to have settled in. They released with a squelching noise.

That caused a small exclamation of surprise from nearby.

'What the bloody hell!' a familiar voice exclaimed, though I couldn't place it at the moment. 'Merlin's trundled pantaloons, there's a person right there!'

Me previous efforts were for naught. My arms sort of just gave out on me and resettled in the mud. For some reason my body didn't seem to have the energy to do anything. Squelching of the mud was heard as footsteps started approaching my direction.

I didn't move from my mud bed, too weak to not focus on the pounding that reverberated through my skull.

As soon as the head popped in my field of view, I realised why the voice was familiar. Blonde straggly hair hung in his face, damp from the rain that had apparently finished falling not too long ago, brilliant green eyes were bright in the fading sun, high cheekbones creating contours on his face with shadows emphasised by the whiskers present, and tall as he towered over my bedraggled self.

He was wearing robes from the Kenmare Kestrels, recent losers in the Quidditch League Cup Final and the ones who had started rioting immediately post game. Apparently they were bitter that the Chudley Cannons had beaten them for the first time in 107 years. _Let's start a riot and knock people out for fun_ was their new slogan. Clearly I was a bit bitter at my predicament.

'Scorpius bloody Malfoy,' I said when my shock at seeing him faded into disbelief. 'What are you doing here?'

He gave me a weird look. I suppose I had no reason to ask why he was here when I was the one stuck in mud.

'Weasley. . . ? Seriously? What the hell are _you _doing here?' His hands reached down and pulled my arms out of the mud, my body reluctantly following. It felt like I was vacuum packed into the mud, it took effort to get my body upright and even then, Scorpius himself slipped, let go of my arm, and landed with a nice kersplat.

My body went limp and I went down again. When my head connected with the ground, white pain encompassed me and I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything.

This time when my eyes opened Scorpius's face was directly above mine, much paler than before. His mouth was moving but I couldn't yet hear what he was saying. I just stared at him blankly until there was this pop of pressure and all noise returned.

'_Boo_,' I said loudly because I was overcompensating for the quiet I was just in and Scorpius gave a soft scream. No lie, he just screamed. I wish I could have documented that. Could have been definite blackmail for the future. Too bad.

'Merlin's bloody walnut. What just happened?' Scorpius said as soon as he resurfaced in my vision.

'Apparently I scared you?' I said, attempting some humour. He didn't laugh. What was he even doing here? I was surprised he didn't make fun of me and my situation and then leave me all alone in the middle of nowhere Ireland.

'Weasley you just blacked out. Are you injured or something? Where's your family? Who'd you come with?'

'Errr, we got separated after the game finished. And I'm with James, Molly, and Vic. We were all supposed to meet up at the campsite. How long ago did the game finish?'

'About three hours.'

'Hmm, they might be a bit worried then.'

Scorpius scoffed. 'You think? Can you get up? I can help you get back.'

'I don't know. I'm rather comfy right now. I don't feel inclined to move.' In all seriousness, that was true. I didn't want to get up. It really didn't feel great with how much pain I was in. And I was a little hesitant to take Scorpius' help. The last time I saw him he gave me tentacles. The time before, it was a nice set of antlers coming out of my temples.

I, of course, did nothing to provoke him. Or deserve the antlers and tentacles. . .

Except, maybe just transfigure a peacocks tail on his bottom, but _he_ did deserve them (he gloated about a Charms essay he got a higher score on. Like really, who does that?).

Scorpius groaned at my response. 'I'm not leaving you in a mud puddle in the middle of a field. We'll go slowly this time.'

And to my utter astonishment, Scorpius got down on his hands and knees in the mud and started scooping mud away from my body. My legs were the first things that were released from the muddy grave, followed by my arms.

'So how did you end up in the mud?'

'It was a megalomammoth man with a stubby sidekick that wasn't actually a sidekick. Both with beards that would put Merlin himself to shame.'

I wish I could see Scorpius' face. He paused in his digging but didn't say anything sarcastic. 'Go on,' he said cautiously.

'Well, James, Vic, Molly and I were all seated up in the nosebleeds. Those two fellows aforementioned were below us were bickering the whole time and making dumb bets with each other. One was a Cannons fan and the other a Kestrel. You _know_ how that works. They seemed to be at least acquaintances. But the Cannons won with that spectacular catch of the snitch by Brady and it all turned to chaos. There was screaming, cheering, champagne flowing – one bottle exploded in my face but that's beside the point – and the stubby man was taunting the megalomammoth dude, continuously.'

By this point Scorpius was pulling mud away from my head, the last of it to go. His hands were covered and mud was all over his robes. Probably not worse than myself though, I was the one actually entombed in it.

'So me and the cousins all promised to meet back at the campsite before we left our seats because we naturally assumed we'd lose one another right away. And then we entered the crowds. Predictably I lost sight of them immediately and decided my safest course was to wait out the craziness. When I finally left the stadium all the rioting was going full force right at the door. Just my luck, of course – '

Scorpius snorted and I couldn't help but grin. I crack myself up sometimes, I've always been incredibly lucky. _Not_. The smile rather hurt the one side of my head though.

' – and I tried to skirt around most of the fighting, but the rain was visibly impeding my sight and I slipped in the mud and accidentally knocked over the stubby man from the stands. He was fighting with the megalomammoth man, but when I fell on him, I pushed him right into the mammoth man. He didn't quite appreciate that and produced one of those wooden noisemaker Beaters bat they were giving out before the game from somewhere and went to take the stubby man's head off with this wild swing, who incidentally ducked at the last minute and clocked me across the face instead.'

'What! He knocked _you _out?'

'Yes. And that's all I remember. I probably was stepped on at a few points after I was knocked out. It feels like a footprint has been imprinted on my stomach. . . At least rioting is no longer right here.' I said and ended it brightly.

'You're crazy, you know that.'

'Yeah, love you too,' I muttered as Scorpius helped ease me upwards, going much slower this time and holding onto my neck and head. As soon as what I said registered, I turned red. It was a mad blush that made my whole face and neck heat up. How the hell did that slip out?

'Hmm, really? Never would have guessed. Those birdies you sent at me last year begged otherwise.'

'You're insufferable! And I didn't mean it, it just slipped out. . . I'm delirious alright! Clearly my sense was knocked out and I'm overcompensating by blabbering.'

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. 'Were you serious, with the whole story?'

Alright, I might be clumsy, blabbering, and unlucky but I did not tell falsehoods. 'I wish I was joking. It's embarrassing. I'll never be able to live it down. Or play Beater at school anymore. You better not tell anyone - OK hold up, _hold up_. Everything has gone white."

And I wasn't even joking. I couldn't see anything.

'Oh. My. God. What if I've gone blind? I'll never be able to play a Quidditch – oh wait, vision has just returned.' I blinked rapidly as order was restored.

I was seated upright, but I didn't know how I was going to walk anywhere. It felt like I had a second head bulging out from my left ear. Scorpius held my face in his hands and tried to wipe off some of the mud that coated me to inspect my injured area. That was doing nothing to help my blush fade. In fact, he basically just made it spread to my entire body. He was much too close to me, hadn't he ever heard of personal space? I was surely overheating. However, overlaying the overheating, there was pain and I winced as Scorpius' fingers gently brushed across my bruises.

A brief flash of concern fell across his face as he checked out my head and presumably all the swelling and bruising that was encumbering my left side, but he masked it quickly enough. He ran his hands in front of my eyes a few times. I wasn't sure what he was doing and he saw my confusion.

'You're eyes are focusing on me, but I think it just might be a serious concussion, no permanent blindness. You'll have to get properly checked later.'

There was only one thing I took from that sentence: 'I am _not_ focused on you.'

He gave me an amused smile. 'Ready to stand all the way up?'

Ooh man. I honestly didn't think I would be able to, but I didn't say anything. Scorpius scooped his arm around my waist and basically just lifted me off the ground, setting me gently on my feet. It helps when you're tall. I was a bit jealous.

'That was effective. You just saved about twenty minutes of struggle.' He went to take his arm out from my waist, but I clenched on tight. 'Better just wait.'

I really didn't feel stable now that I was vertical. It was a bit of nausea, dizziness, and white threatening to creep over my eyes. Even after I let go of him, he seemed to realise I wouldn't be going anywhere unless aided. And whatever, it was just some guy who hated me, I was sure he didn't mind escorting me to the end of the campground. He didn't say a thing though and I didn't complain (it wasn't at all because I rather liked his arm around me, which was strangely comforting when one had a severe concussion and was covered in muck).

We stood still for quite a few minutes while I tried to take deep breaths. I happened to glance down at myself at one point and understood how nobody noticed me lying in the mud: I was _completely _covered. No Cannon colours or skin was exposed anywhere.

'I probably look like quite a sight at the moment,' I haphazardly mentioned to Scorpius. He was pretty filthy now as well after helping dig me out and standing me up and since I was basically resting against him, trying not to fall down. I could feel my hair heavy around my head, stuck to my back and clothes, clogged down with mud.

'You're always a sight.'

I glared at him and took a step forwards. 'I'm going to ignore that insult. Or compliment. I don't even want to know what it was. Let's go. My campsite is in the North End.'

'Uh Weasley. . . ' He wasn't moving. I mean, I tugged at him but it was so weak and ineffective he just pivoted me around instead of going in the direction I wanted. 'North is this way.'

Oh. _Oops._

It was probably a good thing Scorpius knew where he was going. If I was by myself I would have went the other way and it sounded like all the riots were down yonder. I didn't need more chances to be involved and injured.

'What happened after the game? How long did the fighting last here?'

Scorpius shook his head. 'Less than an hour. Fighting is still ongoing in some areas but most of it is controlled. Law enforcers in the area probably outnumber campers now.'

'Bloody hell. That's insane. I can't believe I was just part of a riot and got knocked out by a Beaters bat. I didn't last two minutes!'

'You're lucky you weren't injured worse.' We finally sloshed out of all the muck around the entrance to the Quidditch pitch. Campsites started just a dozen metres ahead and festivities were ongoing. The Cannons had won for the first time in basically forever. My Dad was probably bloody ecstatic wherever he was with Uncle Harry and Auntie Ginny. They had box seat tickets (lucky bastards) and were probably somewhere in Kilkenny already plastered. I suppose I should have been more excited about the win myself, but I honestly was more worried about falling over or something else equally asinine at this moment. What if I fell on Scorpius?

'Don't make me laugh. Lucky? I've never heard that in the same sentence in reference to myself. Who was the only one last year who managed to splinch themselves in half, twice?'

'Only you,' he muttered. 'Well, despite your concussion, your tongue seems to be in working order.'

'I don't think my tongue is connected to my brain at the moment because its pounding and I feel like I'm going to grow a second head. I think it's just shock. If I suddenly faint, my campsite number is 3003 in the North. Tent is tie-dyed and pumpkins are hanging from the trees – don't ask. If I die en route, Freddy gets my clothes. He made me promise a year ago.'

Out of the corner of my eye I saw orange and braced myself for something. They were Cannon fans – so basically a bunch of crazy mofo's – and something was bound to happen. They were decked out in only bright orange capes and _underpants_. Everything else was body paint.

'I wouldn't mind going blind now,' I said to Scorpius. Some of those old men should _not_ be running around in their tighty-whities. That was one of the more unfortunate things about being a Cannons fan, most of the other fans were over 50 and male. I definitely averted my eyes skyward to avoid looking at those beer bellies, but that seemed to make my head want to fall all the way back. With supreme effort I righted it again and just decided to stare at Scorpius' shoulder instead. He had a nice shoulder.

'I wouldn't either,' he agreed.

Surprisingly the drunken fans left us well enough alone. We probably just blended in with the trees because we were so muddy. It was a brilliant disguise.

The density of tents increased the further we stumbled along. Alright, I was the one stumbling, but Scorpius was the perfect gentleman (for the first time in his life) and didn't say anything. He just tightened his grip and guided me along. Remember that blush from earlier? Yeah, it was still there, full scale. We were passing campsite number 505 so I didn't think it would abate for quite some time yet. Hopefully it wouldn't be a permanent blush, I didn't need more things to add to my medical repertoire.

'You're fortunate nobody can see what team colours you're wearing," I suddenly stated. 'Kestrels, really?'

'I'm not biting.'

'What?'

'We're not going to spend the next few thousand campsites arguing about Quidditch.'

I scowled. I could recite statistics like it was nobody's business. Plus we just won the League Cup, _no biggy_. Plus I was Team Captain at Hogwarts. I couldn't just be dragged along in silence though, if I stopped talking my head might fall off or something.

'Wait. Why are you here and helping me? I was under the impression that you thought I was the equivalent of an octopus. Y'know, _tentacles_. . . ? Bring back riveting memories of Sixth Year. . . ?'

Scorpius started guffawing loudly, almost startling me out of my boots.

'CHUDLEY CANNONS,' someone yelled next to a fire and a loud cheer went up, quieting Scorpius before he really got started. There were lanterns hanging in the trees and clothes draped from clothes lines. 'FRIENDS! HAVE A SHOT WITH US!'

'Oh hell,' Scorpius whispered. He kept walking but two older women pulled at Scorpius' arm and stopped them in their tracks.

'Oh, you're so mucky!' the one woman said and let go of his arm to wipe it on the grass, but managed to stumble and fall. The other woman had a bottle of white liqueur in her hand and shakily poured it into a dirty glass. 'Here! Shots for the Cannons win! First time in 100 years!'

It was actually the first time they beat the Kestrels in 107 years, not the League Cup, but before I could correct her she shoved the glass into my hand, alcohol slopping over the edge. I couldn't help but stare in horror at it. There was no way I could take a shot. Not when my head was throbbing and I was worried I'd black out soon with the concussion. Scorpius seemed to read my brainwaves, thank goodness. He grabbed the glass and clinked glasses with the lady.

'To the Cannons,' he said solemnly and then took my shot for me without making too much of a grimace. I couldn't help but sigh in relief. When the lady insisted that I needed a shot, Scorpius did another to appease her when she would accept no argument so we could finally make our escape.

'My hero,' I said as soon as we left their clutches. Shit, was I flirting? 'This should be in the papers somewhere. Diehard Kestrels fan celebrates the Cannons win.'

'That really wasn't the most pleasant shot, I think it was a homebrew. You owe me, by the way.'

'I do. Thanks Malfoy. I appreciate all this.'

He gave some sort of grunt as rebuttal or acknowledgement. The sun was completely gone by now and campfires lit our path with the occasional lanterns in trees set out by League officials at the start of the weekend. We passed banners upon banners for the Cannons, orange streamers, and those damned Beater's bat noisemakers. People were celebrating everywhere.

The mud that was coating me had hardened and it was uncomfortable to move, but I didn't notice it as I was consumed by our conversation. Scorpius was just so easy to talk to! My mouth wouldn't shut up when I started talking about Transfiguration, how I was liking Ireland, and then somehow ended up telling him a funny story about where I got stuck upside down in a tree when I was five. Even though he wasn't one to talk a lot, he prompted me with questions and seemed genuinely curious about me and my life. He shared his stories and it was like I wasn't even walking with Scorpius Malfoy. Who was this guy beside me? Clearly I didn't know him. After we averted a noisy group of fans who were dancing up a storm in the middle of the path, I suddenly felt like sharing something with him.

'You know. You're actually rather nice. Well, I mean, this is nice. Or different. You know what I mean. We're getting along and all. . . ' I just really should shut up. Honestly, what was I saying!

'Yeah, you're not half bad Weasley.'

'Half bad! _Excuusseeee_ me!' Songs started up from the big group on the left. 'Twas a happy day in the country for us fans. If only my head didn't hurt so I could appreciate it more.

Scorpius suddenly started laughing, the most uncontrollable laughter I'd never head. It was unbridled and I could only stare up at him. His arm tightened around my waist. It did nothing to help the now permanent blush.

'Why are you laughing?' I asked with a grin. I wasn't even sure what set him off and didn't want to be out of the loop.

'I just remembered again. . . You. . . tentacles. . . your face! That was priceless.'

I rolled my eyes. The whole damn school thought that was priceless for over two months.

'_Har har har._ Yes it was _so_ funny. Why did no one appreciate the peacock feathers? That was a magnificent piece of transfiguration. They highlighted your buttocks like no other.'

He was still laughing. It was not at all an infectious laugh and I would not start laughing with him. Nope. . . Instead, what came out of my mouth was an ungraceful snort despite all my efforts to suppress extraneous noises. Those two shots he took back at the campsite must have affected him more than I thought.

'Rose, you tried rolling down the stairs with your tentacle-leg things to come after me. And then fell into the banister and managed to get stuck when the tentacles wrapped around the woodwork.'

With his use of my first name I felt really warm. 'You just called me Rose,' I decided to say. We needed to move on from the tentacles.

'No I didn't.'

And just why was he so defensive?

I nudged his shoulder as much as I could from my vantage point. It was more like his elbow though. 'It's okay. I like it. I find 'Rose' rather suits my persona, don't you?'

Oh no. More flirting. It felt filthy and that wasn't even a deliberate pun on my situation. OK, maybe just a little bit. It didn't actually feel filthy but I swear it was probably just the concussion making my brain let loose as if Scorpius was one of my best friends. The atmosphere around us was almost other-worldly at this moment: darkness surrounded us with the odd gleam of campfires and lanterns that lit the paths; the dominant colour of orange in the trees as decoration; sounds of cheering and talking all around that were fading as my focus was on our conversation. This easy banter wasn't going to last much longer than the walk to the campsite. I felt a tinge of disappoint at that thought.

'It does. You're one of the few people who I think fits their name perfectly.' If I wasn't mistaken he sounded a bit nervous.

It made me beam (and caused pain with my left cheek). 'Why thanks, Monsieur Malfoy. I am honoured to do justice to my name.'

He started laughing again suddenly, shocking a few passerby's who apparently didn't notice the two mud covered humans walking. 'Tentacles. You. Honestly!'

My lip was curling into a scowl with the mention again. I was trying really hard to repress that incident, I don't know why I brought it up in the first place so long ago.

We were now at campsite 1324 and making rather good time. 'Hey, you didn't answer that question I asked previously. Back when we were interrupted to do shots. Well, when you had to do the shots.'

'Hmm. Right.'

I waited, but he didn't elaborate.

'Sooooo? What are you doing here and helping a fellow Hogwartian out? I was under the impression that you didn't really like me.'

He drummed his fingers on my side and I immediately got shivers. As if I needed shivers to go with the permanent blush. I would be my own case study at the hospital. I squirmed a bit too because it tickled. That was my weak spot. Dangerous.

'I don't not like you – '

Double negative, it took me a second to figure that out.

' – I think you're really brilliant and passionate about what you do. I like our 'fights' at school really. They're entertaining.'

'Wow. Those shots must have been very strong.'

He chuckled.

'No seriously. I think you've complimented me more than once in the past hour. Who are you and what have you done with Malfoy?'

This was crazy. I mean maybe secretly, somewhere deep and dark inside me I thought the same. But I wouldn't actually say it! What was this!

Chants of '_Chud-ley Can-nons! Chug! Chug! Chug!_' got louder the closer we got to campsite 2000. I remembered the pre-game party at this campsite hours ago. James, Vic, Molly, and I all joined them to play a few drinking games early in the afternoon, though I wasn't drinking because I was underage and it was the only way my parents let me go camping with my older cousins for the League Cup. They were the only other group of under 20's we found in our area of the campsite and were rather wild, hence the apparent chugging of alcohol going on.

'We've never talked before. Alone. Like this. It's nice,' he said sincerely.

That was a thought to ponder. Scorpius likes talking to me. But I had to agree with him and since we were being extremely honest at the moment I told him so.

'It _is_ nice. I concur. Let's do this more often.'

'Ok. We will.'

A damn smile formed on my face and wouldn't leave. Right as we were passing campsite 2000 some sort of Frisbee came flying through the darkness and clocked me in the head. On the _left_ side. In the damn swollen concussed area.

My legs immediately gave out and sheer white pain overcame me for a few moments. Scorpius wasn't holding on tight enough that he could stop me and so I found myself clutching my head while sitting in a mud puddle. Again.

'Weasley!' he exclaimed. He ducked down and I looked at him as if they were a lifeline. His hands were on my shoulders and holding tight. I wouldn't say no to a lobotomy at this point, it was probably less painful than this.

'Hey, sorry mate. Can you throw the Frisbee back?' someone yelled. I recognised the voice from the pre-party, but in the darkness and through my pain I wasn't about to say hello.

'Imbecile,' Scorpius murmured with worried glances at me. Sharp pain started shooting bullets into my skull and the whiteness started creeping into my eyes.

'Damn. Damn. Damn,' I chanted quietly. I didn't want to faint right now. I was really enjoying our conversations. Who knew that a Beaters bat could really do a head in?

By the time Scorpius threw the Frisbee back I managed to clear the white and felt like I could stand up again. He kneeled down in front of me once again and held onto my arms.

'Whatchu lookin' at tiger?' I said light-heartedly.

'How's your head? Can you walk? Are you OK?'

Well, despite the concussion and pounding in the skull I was. 'Let's mosey on _dahling_. We've got some ground to cover still.'

Scorpius rubbed his temples. 'Rose. Is this how you're compensating for the pain? I don't know if I should be worried or not. I'm more on the worried side right now. . . '

'Ahhh, shucks. Don't worry gov'na! I'm fine. I'll probably sleep real good tonight. Yup. This mud is looking awfully like a bed at the moment, love, why don' you just leave me here. . .'

I tried to lay down but was stopped by a firm hand at my back. Scorpius looked briefly scared at my actions and once again wrapped his arm around my waist and hoisted me up. 'Let's get you back, we're almost there. I really wish I had my wand on me.'

And I wish this pounding would stop. I felt so loopy because of the Frisbee blow. 'Where's your wandy wand?' I giggled. I giggled? Sweet Merlin get me home. Scorpius was walking at a much faster pace than before. I wasn't even sure if my feet were on the ground and moving along with his.

'I lost it a few hours ago during the riots. I was one of the volunteers for the game and was trying to break up a fight when some Kestrel fans got angry. I was jostled a bit and don't know where it ended up. Might have been stolen for all I know.'

'Shucks. Unfortunate. _Really_. What are you going to do? School in few weeks.'

'Wand shopping again. Ollivander is not going to be impressed. It's the third one I've had to replace.'

This time when Cannons fans approached us and tried to have a drink with us, Scorpius shooed them away.

'Why are you two so muddy?' an obnoxious almost-nude-old-man asked us who was clearly sloshed out of his mind. He had the Cannons logo painted across his chest and instead of averting my eyes like before I couldn't stop staring at his large stomach. His belly button was an outie. I'd never seen one before. 'Twas grossly fascinating.

'Been _canoodling_ in the bushes?' he said to Scorpius, half taunting and half chastising. 'You know that's not how to treat a lady, young man.'

Scorpius tensed and assured him that we had not just been canoodling in the bushes. Then we left as quickly as he could, avoiding my gaze (or so I thought, I didn't quite trust myself at this moment).

'You're lovemaking skills left my toes a-tingling dahling. Don't be ashamed of our tumble,' I said with a flourish of my hand after we passed by the shambles of a tent at the next campsite. Flourishing of the hand. Lovemaking. _TUMBLE._ And were my legs even working? My head couldn't think of an answer.

I missed Scorpius' reply and apparently the last few hundred campsites as well for before I realised it, the familiar pumpkins Molly and I carved were lit up in the trees and my tie-dyed tent was before us.

'My tent!' I suddenly said. 'We've made it.'

Scorpius let out a deep breath. 'Merlin's sweet gumdrops. You're alive. Thank goodness. You haven't spoken a word for about half an hour. It was unnatural.'

We entered the campsite and I pointed out the three pumpkins I carved in the trees. There was a fire and the rumblings of voices from around it.

'Hey, are you two at the wrong campsite?' James asked us from somewhere off in the darkness, he was snuggled up beside a girl who was definitely not Molly or Vic.

'You don't even recognise your own cousin? Seriously James, you call yourself a relative,' I said. Scorpius moved to let go, but I held on tight to him. He was not running off yet.

'Rose? That you? Why are you covered in mud? I thought you went to bed hours ago.'

I shook my head and then had to hold it to stop it from falling off. 'No you dummy. I didn't even make it back here after the game!'

'Who's in your sleeping bag then?'

'I don't know. I don't think I _want _to know. You didn't check? And is Vic around? I have a concussion right now – long story. This is Scorpius by the way. He's basically my knight in shining armour.'

James eyeballed Scorpius up. 'What did you do Rose?'

'Pshhhaa. Don't assume he did anything. Blame the megalomammoth man,' I countered.

'Yeah, yeah sure. I'm not even going to ask, I'm sure it's ridiculous. And Vic just went in to grab some drinks before we head out again. You want something mate?' he asked Scorpius. He picked up a beer by his feet and held it out.

'Ah, no thanks,' Scorpius said. 'I won't be able to stay long.'

'Suit yourself. This is Ellie, she's from campsite 2000, the place where we were this afternoon.' It was also the place I almost died from a Frisbee, but I neglected to mention it to James. I didn't really recognise the woman, but gave a smile all the same.

Ellie gave a small wave and wrapped a blanket tighter around herself.

'Let's find Vic. She brought the first aid kit,' I told Scorpius. We walked together inside the tent, James' eyes on us the whole time. I was sure he was going to take the mickey out of me in the morning.

The tent was a purchase of mine I was particularly proud of. It was magically expanded and there was a little seating area on one side with a small wood burning stove and a table for two, while on the other all our sleeping bags were stretched out. It was the perfect size for the four of us. And apparently someone _was_ in my sleeping bag (a rather lumpy someone). It wasn't Molly or Vic because they were staring at us standing there.

'Welcome to my tent,' I said happily to Scorpius who was looking around. I was glad most of the loopiness had passed so I wasn't saying anything else too embarrassing. 'It's my baby.'

'I really like it actually. It's quaint.'

'Uh. Rose?' Molly said. She was looking at us with a baffled expression on her face. 'Is that you?'

'Of course it's me. Who else would show up in this tent and say 'it's my baby whilst covered in mud.'

Vic looked over to the sleeping area. 'Who's in your sleeping bag? We thought you beat us here after the game and passed out!"

I looked up at Scorpius. 'I'm really glad you found me when you did. Apparently nobody would have noticed my absence until we were packing tomorrow! I would have been stuck in mud all night.'

'You're lucky,' Scorpius said with a smirk. That was the second time he said that to me this evening. He _would_ learn. 'Vic, you said earlier Rose? I'm Scorpius. And Molly – nice to meet you.' He reached out and shook hands with the both of them.

'Pleasure,' Molly said. 'You're just as covered in mud as Rose. _Whaaat_ were you two up to?' I heard the tone of her voice with the innuendo attached and completely ignored it.

'I have a concussion,' I announced instead. 'Cousins to your stations!' Scorpius let go of me and I sat down on the futon. I rested my head on the back of it and it was like everything hit at once. The pounding that I had been ignoring the past few hours moved to the front of my head. My vision went double, but at least it was better than going blind and loopy again. I almost wished I was still walking with Scorpius, that somehow made me not realise I was as hurt as I was, all the talking kept everything at bay.

Molly and Vic were staring at me. 'Where is the first aid kit?' I reiterated as two Scorpius' heads stared down at me. Woah.

'Just a concussion? That's it? Pretty tame for you,' Vic finally said. She dug around in her bag and pulled out a bottle of wine and a small box, bringing over the box for me.

'Do you mind if I siphon off the mud?' she asked. 'I can't see a thing.'

'G'head. Do Scorpius too while you're at it.'

I felt a small pressure all over me and the flaky, sticky, muddy feeling that I'd had since waking up in the mud disappeared. I could feel my loose curly hair around my face and that frightened me a little because that wasn't normal. All the extra tension of being held down with the mud probably caused a fission reaction as everything finally sprung free. I wouldn't be surprised if my auburn locks were triple their normal volume right now.

'Woah. That's a gorgeous bruise decorating your face. If this was the Bruise League Cup you would win. Hands down," Vic said and smeared a dollop of blue cream all over the left side of my face.

I heard Molly laugh in the background and say to Scorpius: 'Kestrels, eh? I bet you're feeling a little bitter right now.'

'Actually not really,' he replied. 'It was a well-played game on both sides. I've almost been converted to the Cannons though, Rose was quite good at laying out the argument on our walk over.'

I snorted. And then winced in pain. I didn't try to convert him at all! What a load of bollocks, _he_ didn't want to talk Quidditch with me during the walk!

'Would you like me to check who is sleeping in Rose's sleeping bag? I feel like she's going to pass out very soon.'

I raised my hand above my head for them to see behind the futon. 'I second that. You go Scorpius. Kick the imposter out! And this cream feels glorious Vic, the magic is some kind of special. I'm going to marry it tomorrow. Call the minister for me.'

'Sorry to burst your bubble Rose but I don't think you want to marry the cream. It'll leave you very unsatisfied and I fear it'll end in divorce.'

'Shucks. At least you're looking out for me cuz.'

I sat up because the dizziness had subsided substantially and put my chin on the back of the cushion, watching Scorpius lean over the sleeping bag. He pulled back the top and exposed a middle-aged man sleeping in there. I didn't recognise him; it was a bit disturbing to think someone was in my sleeping bag and tent, but at least he was fully clothed. Scorpius started shaking the person that was laying there.

'I can't believe some random man is in your bed,' Molly whispered to us. 'I don't recognise him at all.' We all stood back and watched Scorpius.

After some more vigorous shaking the man bolted upright. 'Avast the Kestrels!' he shouted and just about nailed Scorpius in the eye with a hand that went flying upward. 'Wait, who the bloody hell are you?'

I giggled. Who was this person?

'Sorry mate,' Scorpius said. 'You're in the wrong tent.'

The man goggled at him, looking completely stunned. He wasn't very attractive and I didn't have much sympathy for him. It was _my _bed!

'Shit. This isn't campsite 1003?'

'Nope. It's 3003.'

'Bollocks! This is embarrassing. Do you mind if I just stay and crash? That's a bloody far walk mate.'

'Oh heeeell no,' Vic muttered. Scorpius didn't even glance back at us to ask, thank goodness. I really didn't want to crash on my futon for the night. I smiled at Scorpius's back. I was getting sleepy now.

'Nah, there's no room. I can help you get back though, I'm heading that way.'

Reluctantly the man pushed my sleeping bag off of him and Scorpius stood him up. Vic applied more blue cream to my still smiling face, piling it on thick. It was like the concussion was melting away. It was brilliant.

He wheeled the sleepy and half intoxicated man out of the tent, but paused at the doorway. I probably still looked like a mess with the cream everywhere and hair a few volumes too big. He was right earlier when he said I usually was a sight to behold. 'Rose, this night was a real pleasure. I'm glad I dug you out of the mud. I'll see you around?'

'Oh of course! I'll owl you sometime. I still owe you, maybe I'll treat you to lunch before school starts.'

He beamed at me. 'I'd like that. Have a good night ladies. Sleep well Rose.' And then he was gone. I stared dreamily after him. I really liked him. I was glad my unfortunate events of the evening led up to our encounter.

'Is my skin a weird red colour right now?' I asked Vic who was standing closest. 'I'm worried I have a permanent blush going on.'

'No you look normal coloured,' she reassured me. I nodded. That was a relief.

'Were you _flirting_ with him Rose Nymphadora Weasley?' Molly accused.

'Flirt? Me? Yeah right.'

'You like him.' She wasn't even questioning it. I turned around and watched as Vic cracked the bottle of wine open and poured two glasses. It didn't escape my notice that about five other empties were piled in the corner. Molly pulled out a blanket from beneath me to take when they headed back out into the evening. The night was still young for them and most of the Cannon fans in the area. Songs and cheering littered the background noise, even from the enclosure of my epic abode.

'Hmm yeah, well I guess I do. He surprised me tonight.' I curled up on the futon and stared at my cousins. They had amused faces.

'Very polite. And cute,' Molly inputted.

'He is. I agree.'

'Looks like he could almost be boyfriend material. If you ever decide to take men seriously and date.'

I was turning 17 next month, too young to really care about all that like they did. However, I pursed my lips and gave it a little thought. 'Actually, I think I'm going to marry him. Not now, or the next few years. But I'm going to. One day.'

Molly chortled a little and Vic snorted, spewing her wine all over my legs. Dirtiness was relative, it all became clear to me tonight.

'You're ridiculous,' Molly said with a shake of her head. 'Clearly you have some sort of head trauma going on right now.'

Considering she just told me that Scorpius was boyfriend material her statement seemed a bit hypocritical. Nonetheless I smirked at them. 'The heart knows what the heart knows.'

Vic rolled her eyes. 'You know, if it was anyone else I would call bullshit. But you – your life is just crazy like that. I believe it.'

I chuckled. 'We're going to have the best 'how we officially met' story ever. I'll tell you tomorrow though, I'm done for today.'

I peeled myself off the couch and crawled into my sleeping bag that smelled like alcohol, stale bread, and cheese. I decided not to really think about_ why _that was (dirtiness was relative, I reminded myself).

I _was_ serious though. I was going to marry him. Maybe I did manage to have a bit of luck today despite all the bad things that happened for if I didn't get knocked out I wouldn't have met Scorpius like I did. And that was my last thought of the night for I blacked out, and this time (thankfully) it wasn't injury induced.

* * *

><p>La fin.<p> 


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